Q: Let’s talk about the 2014 Navy budget. Why did you not figure in sequestration in the proposal?

A: Our budget that we submitted is higher than the caps (imposed by the sequester). You have the president’s budget, which is at one level. You have the House and Senate budget acts, which are both different. If that’s not resolved, then we have to fall in line with the (sequester) caps. So you’ll see similar actions in FY14, which will be a reduction in operations, deferred maintenance and a delay in purchasing. And it’s really a matter for the administration and the Congress to sort out.

Q: It sounds like the budget pain in 2014 will look similar to 2013.

A: It really hinges on the actions of Congress, in terms of what budget level they give us. It’s a bit of uncertainty.

Q: Base closures: The Pentagon proposed them this year. Congress said no. Are they back on the table?

A: I’d say for the Navy particularly, we were pretty active in prior rounds of base closures. So we don’t think we have as large a challenge as other services might, but we still support having a base closure round.

Q: What’s San Diego’s vulnerability to base closures?

A: San Diego is our major hub on this coast. The way the base closure process works, we look at all the units we have here. Right now, we have 66 ships. If you look at the shipbuilding plan, we’re projected to grow in San Diego. In terms of the expectations, we’ll have to let the process go through, and it will look at what our plans are for how many ships, and it will make its decisions accordingly.